We've Been Scammed On Koh Samui!

[syd barrett]

These scams are all over Pattaya as well.

Sometimes holiday-makers (because they are in high holiday spirits) believe the hype and part with cash.

30,000 baht is not uncommon, then they soon realise they've been had. Most are too ashamed to admit it and it is a lesson learnt for life.

It is no good moaning about it or taking legal action. The money has gone.

In Pattaya beware the scratch-card-trick, the sweet research girls (who get your hotel name) and the motorbike guys who suddenly pull up along side you and say "Hello do you speak English"

[scorecard]

I am fully authorised by the good Offices of the Governor General of Australia representing the duly elected parliament and it's territories and under the soverignty provisions to offer you a 50% share in the Syndey Harbor Bridge plus a 50% share in the Sydney Opera House.

Due to offshore banking regulations to take advantage of this once only offer you cannot pay me in cash but you can buy for me the full ownership of a luxury resort on Ko Samui with at least 200 rooms, and have the ownership recorded in my Thai name. To be fair I would also be requiring that you pay all land taxes etc for the next 20 years in advance.

Fair deal?

[brd]

Hello,

firstly, all this is usual time share sales aggressive way to pressure any one to buy tricking you.

secondly you sign a document not giving your bank records they can debit directly from, didn't you ?

thirdly why do you hide the name of the company that approached you yourselves in connivance playing their games not helping others to be protected from them.

fourthly get your money back quickly as they know you are not staying long enough in Samui and once you are gone they will enjoy the catch, push the police to come with you to collect the money back.

fifthly no way you should let salesmen to take advantage of yourselves even being off guards when so relaxed to force you to buy anything in Samui.

Finally I went to the process myself to see what they were doing and I wasted several hours to hear their what is pure time share selling real B/S but the one who approached me in the street was very grateful I did it as he won a commission of THB 400 for bringing me in the company he worked for.

The Senior managers were brought in to the rescue in view of my reluctance they tried to convinced me but I know the timeshare business ( bank employees are also using similar pressures to sell financial products ) and I hate it though I walked out not committed to anything without any gift from them I was supposedly entitled to like TShirt and that was it.

They seem to know me as when walking in the Chaweng beach street they do not stop any more to me.

You are lucky to have been tricked for only USD 1000 and you have not to worry for the other USD they are expecting to collect from you if you did not sign any bank transfer forms.

Enjoy your holidays and not to worry the lesson is cheaper than say a jetski rippoff..........

In Samui they all come from various parts of Thailand to see rich farangs expecting to win lotteries tickets out of the visiting foreigners but they have to work hard for their living as foreigners are on holidays and not cash free givers.

Carry on in great AMAZING AMAZING THAILAND

[bina]

why do you hide the name of the company that approached you yourselves in connivance playing their games not helping others to be protected from them.

thaivisa cannot allow 'name and shame' of any companies due to libel clauses (forum rules). therefore we removed the names. if it is important to people, they can PM the OP.

bina

[Gaccha]

Your reactions fascinate me.

We know from the Stanford Prison Experiments onwards that humans can be readily manipulated into torturing others/ being corrupted/ being gamed or scammed.

We would all like to believe that we are too clever for it, too superior, too morally aware. But you are not. If you are even slighty group-orientated (played for your school football team, work in a conventional office environment, have 'mates' that you hang out with) then you will definitely fall for any of these.

Only if you are the outsider, the loner, the rebel, is there a possibility that you can resist. Typically these people become professors/reporters/mercenaries... etc. If on the other hand you are an accounts manager at a British coroporation then forget it. You are already ready to be chewed apart by these sellers.

[Kf6vci]

I'm seconding Goldfinger with a twist. Take a translatyor, and press for a full refund or raise H*LL in a way that this would cost them more than your deposit.

PM me if you need a contacxt e/mail for the Tourist Police or search for it online, starting at the Suvarnabhumi = BKK airport.

Maybe call your embassy. Act fast.

Is this a cendant or RCI owned timeshare thing? These people are \unbelieveable, trying to convice folks that they can rent out a THB 20,000 a month condo for like $ 100 a night

Forget lawyers, think the squeaky wheel and outside the box. You shouting POLICE in some hotel might scare off other suckers and make the hotel concerned. The squeaky wheel gets the oil...

It's now or never.

You should have some cooling off period under Thai law.

Chris

[MrHammer]

I'll bet there's a number of posters on this thread taking the piss out of the OP who've been milked like a prize dairy cow by their Thai wife/gf/family/whoever. They're the ones I'm laughing at.

Timeshare eh? Hans in January, Dave in June and July, Somchai in between.. Sorry

[dom samui]

think you have already the goods answers, 20per cent to the police .

and don t give a s**t to all the :"you should have or i cant believe or what a or it happens ever.....

There a lot of number one mentals here who need psychiatric cares.

[carmine]

think you have already the goods answers, 20per cent to the police .

and don t give a s**t to all the :"you should have or i cant believe or what a or it happens ever.....

There a lot of number one mentals here who need psychiatric cares.

Sorry mate, can't understand a word of that

[smokie36]

think you have already the goods answers, 20per cent to the police .

and don t give a s**t to all the :"you should have or i cant believe or what a or it happens ever.....

There a lot of number one mentals here who need psychiatric cares.

Sorry mate, can't understand a word of that

Only a guess but I think he may be referring to 'Oiling the wheels of justice'.

[Payboy]

I believe them and would do this myself aswell, it is a very good deal:

4,500 pounds, deposit 1,000 and this is not for one but for 3 years.

What them promise them:

* 2 first class tickest to the Maldives.

* 2 persons 5+ star resort for 2 weeks.

* Condominium 240 M2 in Monaco, walking distance for Hotel the Paris.

* 4 boxes of Dom Perignon, 1972

* 1 Ferrari california ocean blue

* Patek Phillippe for him.

* Patek Phillippe for her.

And to welcome them to the club, a party event for you and 20 friend at the Oriental hotel.

And this are opnly the gifts for the first year.

Who wouldn't go for this, i would

I think you confused that one with the Thailand Elite Card.

[Payboy]

It should be compulsary that tourists to Thailand must hold a degree in "streetwise" before getting a Visa

Yeah, either that or at least a membership of Thai Visa.

[hhgz]

"This is probably the most long winded troll i've seen on thai visa."

Immediately following the post is an advertisement for colonics. How appropriate!

[phetaroi]

troll or no troll

obviously the timeshare scam still works as the scammers are still at it, seen them in the past in Phuket & Samui. When approached on Samui by a farang with a ponytail showing me a hotel resort brouchure, promising me a great deal with some free nights if i attend a 'presentation' i told him no thanks!!

I don't think it's a troll. Although I didn't fall for it, the same scam was is full force in Hawaii way back in the early 1980s. I just don't understand how people can be so damned dumb.

[justplainjoe]

I'll bet there's a number of posters on this thread taking the piss out of the OP who've been milked like a prize dairy cow by their Thai wife/gf/family/whoever. They're the ones I'm laughing at.

Realy funny

That is sooo not true!!!! My wife and mia noi love me for who I am!!!!! Not my money!!!! God I love this country!!!!

[neverdie]

I hate those scam artsists, they can be terribly sticky, when I visit one of the tourist areas and am approached by one these days I get instantly AGGRESSIVE and tell them to 'Phark off'. Scum bags. Can't believe people still fall for their tricks, there is NO FREE MEAL IN LIFE people.

[Joints]

I'll bet there's a number of posters on this thread taking the piss out of the OP who've been milked like a prize dairy cow by their Thai wife/gf/family/whoever. They're the ones I'm laughing at.

I think you are right, what else can explain the strong urge to point out how stupid the op is? This happens every time someone feels he´s been scammed. It never fails. Must feel good not being on the losing side for once I suppose.

[smokie36]

This forum is better at throwing shit than helping. It wasn´t always like this, was it?

The best advice has already been given. Learn from it and move on....no chance of getting any money back.

[PoorSucker]

Try the tourist police.

Located on right side coming from Chaweng and before traffic lights in Bophut.

I see them everyday here in Chaweng.

None of them have any work permit and they just pay the police some commission for every "sale".

[needforspeed]

I believe them and would do this myself aswell, it is a very good deal:

4,500 pounds, deposit 1,000 and this is not for one but for 3 years.

What them promise them:

* 2 first class tickest to the Maldives.

* 2 persons 5+ star resort for 2 weeks.

* Condominium 240 M2 in Monaco, walking distance for Hotel the Paris.

* 4 boxes of Dom Perignon, 1972

* 1 Ferrari california ocean blue

* Patek Phillippe for him.

* Patek Phillippe for her.

And to welcome them to the club, a party event for you and 20 friend at the Oriental hotel.

And this are opnly the gifts for the first year.

Who wouldn't go for this, i would

I think you confused that one with the Thailand Elite Card.

No i didnt , as with the Thai elite card they promise you also;

* Visa's for as long you would like to stay

*Golf course membership for life

*Support while doing business in Thailand

*legal support for private matters

*Upgraid if traveling with Thai Airways

*Excess to business lounge at Airport

*And at all goverment offices a BIG SMILE

[Boater]

they really isnt anything the op can do...

the police are all paid to protect this company, but there are two on samui so not sure which one... but the description of the OP suggests the timeshare company located in central chewang.

best thing to do is walk away... or pay the money. I have met actual people who enjoy there timeshare in samui! and they have mentioned it has worked out value for money, well considering some of the prices on samui !

[Gforbes]

Somebody who was going to pay 30,000 baht for a weeks accom here can afford to put it down to experience. Nobody made you sign anything. You signed because you thought you were getting something for free. I knoiw a few of the people you are talking about. They drink in a bar I frequent. Smooth taliking salesmen they certainly are but not the scammers you are making them out to be as far as I am aware! As said if you can spend that amount of money on a weeks hotel then its not the end of world. I have a friend who just lost 20,000 baht between the ATM and getting into the bank and he is Scottish as well so think how he feels.

Please let me know the name of the bar - so I can avoid it. I get stopped by these guys almost daily in Chaweng, there is the Londoner with the motorcycle cruisin' on the Beach Road, there is the German with the pony tail, there is the English girl with the French girl on the back of the step-thru (can be found in Fisherman's Village usually) and more recently, a few Thai guys being run by a Farang who hangs back in the door of McDonalds. They are all a pain in the butt, but you do not have to listen to their horse manure and I suspect they are all less than legal.

[kosh]

These scams are all over Pattaya as well.

Sometimes holiday-makers (because they are in high holiday spirits) believe the hype and part with cash.

In Pattaya beware the scratch-card-trick, the sweet research girls (who get your hotel name) and the motorbike guys who suddenly pull up along side you and say "Hello do you speak English"

In Samui last year was the sweet tourist survey girl....

She had me filled a survey with high probability of a big prize, a week in a nice hotel i think.

After finished she asked for more info, hotel, phone, i just said my email is on the form, i check it twice a day, more if i can be the winner....

The next day the guy with the girl tryed to have more info from me (they where on the beach street, impossible to avoid), but when they started talking about monery i said my budget is under 1000b per day .

[Navalator]

What is this **name removed** bit? If we do not know the name how can we be on guard? Just consider all street offers scams?

[Daewoo]

To the OP... do not worry about all of the BS 'you are too naive to leave home" comments... Those posters have seen these scams a zillion times, so of course they know it is a scam... most of us can understand how truly convincing the sales guys can be, and how you are not given the opportunity to fully investigate what you are signing up for...

At home in Australia, I manage contracts worth a billion dollars, heavy engineering clashing heads with big gruff hairy backed project managers... yet I was duped by the slick sales guy from Modern Roof Restorations into paying about 7 times the value of the work... At least in Australia they know if they misrepresent what they are selling there are avenues that the consumer can use to hold them to account...

The timeshare scams exist all over Thailand (and other countries) for a reason, they are very profitable and are able to foll many people into signing up...

I don't know if the tourist police will be able to help you too much... if you only loose $250 it would be a good deal... maybe you can offer the timeshare company the value of any prizes they have given (plus any commisions they would have paid out already)...

I think importantly, try not to let this ruin your holiday, if you don't get a cent back, your holdiay has cost you 10% more than you planned... if you let it ruin your holiday, the whole 110% is lost...

Cheers,

Daewoo

[manta]

sorry ... but

I'm with you on this one!!

[billpatt]

had a great laugh reading this....lol.....

long may people continue to be sooooo stupid........lol.....

[watcharacters]

I am reading this thead again and am sort of surprised by the nastiness. Should've, would've, could've. Three of the easiest words to say. Some of you forget what it's like to be in that type of siuation. Think back to when you purchased a vehicle in your homelands. Remember when the car salesman says, oh, in order to finalize the sale we need to meet with the business manager. It happened to me. I was able to dodge the extended warranties (useless and the commission to the salesman is usually 50%+), the additional "packages" like "rustproofing", "upholstery & carpet" stain proofing etc. etc. After 20 minutes of high pressure, I made the mistahe of paying $300. or something like that for 2 oil changes a year for 3 years. Don't remember the exact price, but after the 1st oil change I said to myself, man I'm a sucker. These sales people are tenacious and the grind you, no matter how tough you are. I had never before experienced it. There I was a veteran of many mosh pits, lots of fancy diplomas and a grown man at 28, but I had never been through it before. My next car purchase, when they tried the boiler room act on me, I said F-off or I walk and you lose the sale. Experience is great, but sometimes you need to have the experience in order to say no. So, folks, please don't be so hard on the OP. Not everyone has experience with these sales people. Remember, if the salesman is good, he or she can make a sale every so often. These salespeople are not as dumb as they act or look.

agreed,

it's not like the OP broke a law. No reason for nastiness is there?

[Otis]

I am reading this thead again and am sort of surprised by the nastiness. Should've, would've, could've. Three of the easiest words to say. Some of you forget what it's like to be in that type of siuation. Think back to when you purchased a vehicle in your homelands. Remember when the car salesman says, oh, in order to finalize the sale we need to meet with the business manager. It happened to me. I was able to dodge the extended warranties (useless and the commission to the salesman is usually 50%+), the additional "packages" like "rustproofing", "upholstery & carpet" stain proofing etc. etc. After 20 minutes of high pressure, I made the mistahe of paying $300. or something like that for 2 oil changes a year for 3 years. Don't remember the exact price, but after the 1st oil change I said to myself, man I'm a sucker. These sales people are tenacious and the grind you, no matter how tough you are. I had never before experienced it. There I was a veteran of many mosh pits, lots of fancy diplomas and a grown man at 28, but I had never been through it before. My next car purchase, when they tried the boiler room act on me, I said F-off or I walk and you lose the sale. Experience is great, but sometimes you need to have the experience in order to say no. So, folks, please don't be so hard on the OP. Not everyone has experience with these sales people. Remember, if the salesman is good, he or she can make a sale every so often. These salespeople are not as dumb as they act or look.

agreed,

it's not like the OP broke a law. No reason for nastiness is there?

I have developed a method to deal with the sidewalk hustlers.It goes something like this;

Hustler; Hello, where you come from? What your name?

Mark; Sawaddii Khrap (Hello). Phom maa jaak (I come from) Pahktawaanokiechiineuwaa (Isaan) Nakhorn Pahnom (city on Mehkong River across from Lao). Phom cheua (My Name is) I Cone Jone (Legendary poor Lanna man who rides bicycle).

By this time the Hustler realizes there is no money here and smiles at the conversation and moves on.

Result is no pressure and no hurt feelings or loss of face. Continue with holiday and lots of smiling until your face hurts. OC

[flemmie]

Marriot group runs a genuine scheme similar to what many here refer to as a "scam"...you are invited to Marriot Resort Phuket to stay 2 nights free, the only obligation is to sit thru a 90min sales pitch...all made clear upfront. Under no further obligation to buy because they believe the product's merits will speak for itself. Marriot does't get spruikers and catch people on the street, it's be referral and the name of the person who introduced is named, as it should be.

Need to say that I have 2 weeks ownership in a Marriott development in Orlando. It was expensive at the time but worth quite some more now (had it for 20 years already). I use it every year and swap with other time share units around the world. If not used I swap for points redeemable at Marriott.

Their sales pitch is very, very good and they are very experienced at it. Not nasty as they have a reputation to defend.

My two cents worth.

Edited December 29, 2009 by flemmie